Thursday, July 31, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 31 On July 31st, 781, the oldest recorded eruption of Mt. Fuji took place.

Other Notable Events, July 31 In 1498, on his third voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad.

In 1556 Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of Roman Catholic missionaries and educators, died in Rome.

In 1792, director David Rittenhouse laid the cornerstone in Philadelphia for the U.S. Mint, the first building of the federal government.

In 1964, Ranger 7, an unmanned U.S. lunar probe, took the first close-up images of the moon.

In 1974, Watergate figure John Ehrlichman was sentenced to 20 months in prison for his role in the break-in at the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist. Ellsberg was the Pentagon consultant who leaked the "Pentagon Papers," documents about the war in Vietnam.

In 1991, the U.S. Senate overturned a 43-year-old law and voted to allow women to fly military warplanes in combat.

In 1992, all aboard were killed when a Thai Airways jetliner carrying more than 100 people crashed in bad weather in Nepal.

In 1995, the Walt Disney Co. announced it was buying Capital Cities/ABC for $19 billion.

In 2002, Alimzan Tokhtakhounov, a reputed Russian crime figure, was arrested at his resort in Italy on charges he tried to fix two ice skating events at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games.

In 2003, North Korea reversed its long-standing opposition to multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons program.

In 2004, Pakistani investigators blamed al-Qaida for an assassination attempt on Prime Minister-designate Shaukat Aziz. Eight people died in the suicide bombing attack.

In 2006, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, two weeks before his 80th birthday, formally transferred power temporarily to his brother Raul in preparation for intestinal surgery.

In 2007, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, in a 411-8 vote, a bill overhauling ethics rules focused on large donations and gifts to lawmakers.

Also in 2007, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to deploy as many as 26,000peacekeepers to end the violence in Sudan's Darfur region that reportedly killed about 200,000 people since 2003.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Today is Wednesday, July 30, the 212th day of 2008 with 154 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 30On July 30th, 1733, the first Freemasons lodge was opened in what would become the United States.

Other Notable Events, July 30 In 1619, in Jamestown, Va., the first elected legislative assembly in the New World -- the House of Burgesses -- convened in the choir loft of the town's church.

In 1932, Walt Disney released his first color cartoon, "Flowers and Trees," made in three-color Technicolor.

In 1936, author Margaret Mitchell sold the film rights for "Gone With the Wind" to MGM for $50,000, most ever for a first novel.

In 1974, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 21-17, approved a third article of impeachment against U.S. President Richard Nixon, charging him with ignoring congressional subpoenas. Nixon resigned before the issue went to trial.

In 1975, former Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa was last seen outside a suburban Detroit restaurant. He was declared dead in 1982.

In 1976, Kate Smith made her last public appearance on this date, singing her signature number "God Bless America" on a TV program honoring the U.S. Bicentennial.

In 1991, a special U.N. commission to Iraq announced it had found 46,000 chemical shells and warheads and 3,000 tons of raw materials for weapons.

In 1994, the United States, Germany, Britain, France and Russia decided to tighten sanctions on the Serb-dominated government in what remained of Yugoslavia.

In 1995, negotiators for Russia and the breakaway republic of Chechnya agreed to stop fighting.

In 1997, suicide bombers detonated two bombs in an outdoor market in West Jerusalem, killing themselves and 13 other people.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II was present for the canonization of Pedro de San Jose Betanur of Guatemala, Central America's first saint, and Juan Diego of Mexico City, first American Indian saint.

In 2003, U.S. President George Bush indicated he would favor a law or constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriages. The Vatican also condemned gay unions.

In 2004, the U.N. Security Council adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution demanding Sudan disarm within 30 days and prosecute those responsible for thousands of deaths in Darfur.

In 2005, British police said they arrested six men and one woman in the failed July 21 London subway bombings. That brought to 13 the number of suspects in custody in the apparent, unsuccessful attempt to match the July 7 attack that killed 56.

In 2006, an Israeli air raid leveled a building housing civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana, reportedly killing at least 65 people, mostly women and children. Israeli officials said the wrong building was hit.

In 2007, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts was reported hospitalized after suffering a seizure. A Supreme Court spokesman said Roberts had "fully recovered" by the next day.

Also in 2007, federal lawmen swept across the Alaska home of seven-term Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, allegedly looking for evidence in an ongoing bribery investigation involving a convicted oil field contractor.

Also in 1993, the Israeli Supreme Court overturned the conviction and death sentence of retired U.S. autoworker John Demjanjuk, accused of being a World War II Nazi death camp guard known as "Ivan the Terrible."

In 1994, the Senate approved the nomination of federal Judge Stephen Breyer to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1996, China conducted an underground atomic test, then declared a moratorium on such explosions.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton agreed to give videotaped testimony at the White House to be viewed by a federal grand jury investigating his alleged affair with former intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 1999, a federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., fined U.S. President Bill Clinton $89,000 for lying about his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky in his deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case.

Also in 1999, a securities trader who suffered heavy losses killed nine people and wounded 11 others in Atlanta before taking his own life. Police later found the bodies of his wife and two children at his home.

In 2004, Pakistan announced the capture of a Tanzanian al-Qaida member sought by the United States in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In 2005, the U.S. Congress gave final legislative approval to a energy bill that included incentives, including tax breaks, for development of alternate fuels and nuclear energy.

Also in 2005, authorities said heavy rains and flooding in Mumbai and surrounding areas had killed 1,000 people.

In 2006, the United Nations and the African Union condemned the Sudanese army and Janjaweed militias for attacking rebels in Darfur's Jebel Moon area during a cease-fire agreement.

In 2007, Pakistani officials warned that an estimated 600 students who disappeared after the crackdown on the Red Mosque may be planning suicide attacks in Islamabad.

Notable Birthdays for July 29 Those born on this date include:- Grigori Rasputin, born in 1871- French historian Alexis de Tocqueville in 1805- Novelist Booth Tarkington in 1869- Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1883- Composer Sigmund Romberg ( Lover Come Back to Me, When I Grow Too Old to Dream ), in 1887- Actors William Powell in 1892 and Richard Egan in 1921- Bluegrass star Henry D. Homer Haynes, member of Homer and Jethro, in 1920- U.S. Labor Secretary and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., in 1936 (age 72)- TV anchorman Peter Jennings in 1938- Actor David Warner in 1941 (age 67)- Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns in 1953 (age 55)- Country singer Martina McBride in 1966 (age 42)- Actor Wil Wheaton ( Star Trek: The Next Generation ) in 1972 (age 36)

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan opened the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. A Soviet-led bloc of 15 nations, as well as Iran, Libya, Albania and Bolivia, boycotted the games.

In 1990, the collision of a freighter and two barges spilled 500,000 gallons of oil in the Houston Ship Channel near Galveston, Texas.

In 1992, Warner Bros. removed the controversial song "Cop Killer" from Ice-T's "Body Count" album by request of the rapper.

In 1998, in return for immunity, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky agreed to testify before a federal grand jury investigating a possible relationship between her and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In 2000, Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was sworn in for a third term amid violent protests by his opponents, who said the election was fraudulent.

In 2003, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citigroup, the two largest U.S. banks, agreed to pay nearly $300 million in fines and penalties to settle charges they had aided Enron in deceiving investors.

In 2004, Democrats nominated Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts to oppose Republic incumbent George W. Bush in the November presidential election.

Also in 2004, a massive suicide car bomb tore through a crowd of Iraqis trying to enlist in the Baquba police force, killing a reported 70 people and injuring more than 50 others.

In 2005, the Irish Republic Army said it was ending violence as a political tactic against Great Britain in Northern Ireland after a 36-year campaign. The IRA promised to disarm and cease terrorist activity.

In 2006, very hot summer weather swept across much of the United States and parts of Europe, leaving a growing death toll in its wake. By late July, California reported 126 heat-related deaths. The heat reached as far north as Bismarck, N.D., which reported 112 degrees.

In 2007, a poll indicated the percentage of American voters who said they think the U.S. Supreme Court is too conservative jumped from 19 to 31 percent in two years after the addition of John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 27 On July 27th, 1866, the Transatlantic Telegraph Cable was completed.

Other Notable Events, July 27In 1794, Maximilien Robespierre, architect of the French Revolution's Reign of Terror, was overthrown and arrested by the National Convention. Robespierre who encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than 17,000 enemies of the revolution, was himself guillotined the following day.

In 1909, Orville Wright set a world record by staying aloft in a plane for 1 hour, 12 minutes, 40 seconds.

In 1921, at the University of Toronto, Canadian scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best successfully isolated insulin -- a hormone they believed could prevent diabetes -- for the first time.

In 1953, after two years and 17 days of truce negotiations, an end was declared to the war in Korea.

In 1980, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, deposed shah of Iran, died in an Egyptian military hospital of cancer at age 60.

In 1986, Greg LeMond, 25, of Sacramento, Calif., became the first American to win cycling's toughest contest, the Tour de France.

In 1989, a Korean Air DC-10 crashed in heavy fog while attempting to land at Tripoli airport in Libya, killing 82 people, four of them on the ground.

In 1993, IBM announced the elimination of 35,000 jobs as part of a restructuring program.

In 1995, the leaders of the three largest industrial labor unions in the United States -- the United Automobile Workers, the United Steel Workers of America and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers -- voted to merge by the year 2000.

In 1996, a bomb exploded at Olympic Park in Atlanta during the Summer Games. One woman was killed and more than 100 people were injured.

In 2002, nine coal miners were trapped 240 feet underground in southwest Pennsylvania when a wall collapsed, inundating them with water. A daring three-day rescue operation saved them all.

Also in 2002, in one of the worst air show tragedies, 83 people were killed near Lviv, Ukraine, when a jet fighter crashed amid spectators.

In 2003, legendary comic Bob Hope died of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, Calif., He was 100 years old.

In 2003 sports, Lance Armstrong became the second cyclist to win the Tour de France for a fifth consecutive year.

In 2004, a major U.S. Muslim charity and seven officers were charged with providing millions of dollars to Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group blamed for dozens of suicide bombings in Israel.

In 2006, a bipartisan congressional report accused the U.S. Homeland Security Department of mismanaging millions of dollars in contracts.

In 2006 sports, American Floyd Landis, who won the Tour de France cycling classic, tested positive for high levels of testosterone, a banned steroid, his Swiss team announced.

In 2007, forensic experts exhumed remains of 131 Bosnian Muslims massacred by Bosnians Serbs and buried in a mass grave at Srebrenica in 1995.

Friday, July 25, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 25 On July 25th, 1894, the first Sino-Japanese War began.

Other Notable Events, July 25 In 1832, one man was killed and three others injured in the first recorded railroad accident in U.S. history. The four were thrown from an otherwise vacant car on the Granite Railway near Quincy, Mass.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launched their invasion of Puerto Rico, the island that was one of Spain's two principal possessions in the Caribbean.

In 1909, French pioneer aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly a "heavier-than-air machine" across the English Channel. It took him 36 minutes.

In 1917, Mata Hari, the archetype of the seductive female spy, was sentenced to death in France as a German spy.

In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing U.S. commonwealth.

In 1956, the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria sank off Long Island, N.Y., after colliding with the Swedish liner Stockholm.

In 1965, folk legend Bob Dylan performed for the first time with electric instruments, so upsetting his fans they booed him.

In 1972, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, disclosed he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the 1960s. Presidential nominee George McGovern replaced him on the ticket with Sargent Shriver.

In 1978, the world's first "test-tube" baby, Louise Brown, was born in Oldham, England.

In 1986, former Navy radioman Jerry Whitworth was convicted of selling U.S. military secrets to the Soviets through the John Walker spy ring. The government called it the most damaging espionage case since World War II.

In 1991, the South African government admitted donating $35 billion in 1989 to support political parties opposing the South-West Africa People's Organization.

In 1992, the Summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain.

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration that ended the 46-year state of war between their two countries.

In 1997, captured Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot was sentenced to life imprisonment in a trial by his former comrades in Cambodia.

In 1999, cyclist Lance Armstrong, having overcome cancer, became the first American on a U.S. team to win the Tour de France.

In 2000, an Air France Concorde supersonic jet crashed on takeoff from Paris, killing all 113 people aboard. It was the first crash of a Concorde.

In 2004, Lance Armstrong won the grueling Tour de France bicycle race for a record sixth consecutive year.

Also in 2004, the harshest cold spell in 30 years struck the Andes Mountains in Peru causing the deaths of at least 46 children.

In 2005, two major unions, the Teamsters and the Service Employees International, announced they were pulling out of the AFL-CIO.

In 2006, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, while also criticizing Hezbollah for its actions against Israel, said that Israeli "arrogance" threatened to plunge the region into war.

Also in 2006, U.S. forces made 19 raids against death squads responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians in Iraq as part of a new crackdown.

In 2007, a bipartisan presidential commission, set up in response to the inadequate treatment of troops at Washington's Walter Reed Medical Center, called for an overhaul the system of determining disability and compensation determinations and improving treatment for brain injuries and post traumatic stress.

Also in 2007, as Iraqis celebrated their national soccer team's victory over South Korea in the Asian Cup semifinals, panic took over when two suicide bombers attacked crowds in Baghdad, killing at least 50 people and injuring about 140.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 24On July 24th, 1847, Brigham Young and 148 Mormon pioneers arrived in Salt Lake Valley.

Other Notable Events, July 24 In 1679, New Hampshire became a royal colony of the British crown.

In 1847, After 17 months and many miles of travel, Brigham Young led 148 Mormon pioneers into Utah's Valley of the Great Salt Lake.

In 1956, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis performed together for the last time.

In 1969, Apollo 11 returned to Earth after the historic moon-landing mission.

In 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that U.S. President Richard Nixon should surrender White House tapes for the criminal trials of his former associates.

In 1987, the U.S.-escorted and re-flagged Kuwaiti oil tanker Bridgeton was damaged by an Iranian mine in the first such incident in the Persian Gulf.

In 1989, the Exxon Corp. estimated that its cleanup of the Alaskan oil spill would cost $1.28 billion.

In 1997, the Scottish scientists who produced Dolly the cloned sheep announced they had cloned a sheep with human genes.

In 1998, a gunman opened fire at the Capitol in Washington, killing two police officers and wounding a tourist. Police shot the gunman, who survived and was later charged with murder.

In 2002, the U.S. House of Representatives expelled Rep. James Traficant, an Ohio Democrat, by a vote of 420-1. Traficant, who had been convicted of racketeering, bribery and corruption, was the second House member expelled since the Civil War.

In 2003, House and Senate intelligence committees said the FBI and CIA had disregarded warnings before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that al-Qaida planned to strike directly at the United States.

In 2005, a powerful car bomb blast targeting a Baghdad police station killed at least 40 people and injured another 30.

And, in 2005 sports, cyclist Lance Armstrong won his seventh consecutive Tour de France and retired.

In 2006, deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was hospitalized on a forced feeding tube in Baghdad as his massacre trial resumed without him.

In 2007, a new national minimum wage increase raised the hourly figure to $5.85 from $5.15. The wage goes up 70 cents each of the next two years when it will be $7.25 an hour.

Also in 2007, U.S. Attorney Gen. Alberto Gonzales was roundly criticized during a Senate Judiciary Committee appearance as he denied pressuring his ailing predecessor to sign off on a controversial warrantless wiretap program.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Today is Wednesday, July 23, the 205th day of 2008 with 161 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 23 On July 23rd, 1962, Telstar relayed the first live trans-Atlantic signal.

Other Notable Events, July 23 In 1829, William Burt of Mount Vernon, Mich., patented the "typographer," believed to be the first typewriter.

In 1948, legendary pioneer movie director D.W. Griffith, maker of several silent classics including the controversial groundbreaker "Birth of a Nation," died at the age of 73.

In 1967, one of the worst riots in U.S. history broke out on 12th Street in the heart of Detroit's predominantly African-American inner city. By the time it was quelled four days later by 7,000 National Guard and U.S. Army troops, 43 people were dead, 342 injured.

In 1973, Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox served subpoenas on the White House after U.S. President Richard Nixon refused to turn over requested tapes and documents.

In 1982, actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter disabled by special effects explosives crashed on the set of "The Twilight Zone" movie.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals Judge David Souter of New Hampshire to replace retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan.

In 1991, the Soviet government applied for full membership to the IMF and World Bank after the Group of Seven recommended a limited "special association" for the U.S.S.R.

In 1998, a second grand jury impaneled by independent counsel Kenneth Starr began hearing testimony about U.S. President Bill Clinton's alleged affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In 1999, U.S. Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a space shuttle flight with the launch of Columbia on a four-day mission.

Also in 1999, Morocco's King Hassan II, an influential leader in the Arab world, died at age 70.

In 2002, a laser-guided bomb fired from an Israeli warplane hit the Gaza home of Sheik Salah Shehada, founder of the military wing of Hamas, killing him and 14 others and wounding more than 140.

Also in 2002, Pope John Paul II, though weakened by Parkinson's disease, began an 11-day trip in Toronto where he attended World Youth Day, a weeklong Roman Catholic festival.

In 2003, the Massachusetts attorney general said an investigation indicated nearly 1,000 cases of abuse by Roman Catholic priests and other church personnel in the Boston diocese over a span of 60 years.

In 2004, the Iraqi army began patrolling its own country for the first time.

In 2005, three synchronized terrorist bombings struck Sharm el-Sheik, an Egyptian resort, killing at least 90 people and injuring 240.

In 2006, an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck Indonesia's Sulawesi island, one week after another quake triggered a tsunami that killed almost 700 people on the Indonesian island of Java. There was no such deadly follow-up reported from the second tremor, however.

In 2007, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair made his first visit to the Middle East as special envoy for "the Quartet," made up of the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations.

Also in 2007, former Afghanistan King Zahir Shah, a monarch admired for his reforms who reigned for 40 years before being forced into exile in Italy and who returned in 2002, died at the age of 92.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

Today is Tuesday, July 22, the 204th day of 2008 with 162 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 22 On July 22nd, 1587, the Colony of Roanoke was re-established.

Other Notable Events, July 22 In 1376, according to German legend, a piper -- having not been paid for ridding the town of Hamelin of its rats -- led the town's children away, never to be seen again.

In 1620, Dutch pilgrims started for America. Their ship -- called the "Speedhaven" -- set sail from Delfshaven, Holland.

In 1793, Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie reached the Pacific.

In 1864, in the first battle of Atlanta, Confederate troops under Gen. John Hood were defeated by Union forces under Gen. William Sherman.

In 1916, a bomb hidden in a suitcase exploded during a Preparedness Day parade on San Francisco's Market Street, killing 10 people and wounding 40. The parade was in support of the United States' entrance into World War I.

In 1933, Wiley Post completed his first solo flight around the world. It took him 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes.

In 1934, bank robber John Dillinger died in a hail of bullets from federal agents outside Chicago's Biograph Theater.

In 1983, the military government of Poland lifted martial law.

In 1991, Milwaukee police arrested Jeffrey Dahmer as a suspect in the deaths of at least 15 people.

In 1992, Pablo Escobar, the boss of the Medellin cocaine cartel, and nine henchmen vanished from a Colombian prison. Many months later, Escobar was surrounded and shot dead.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered the Pentagon to begin a major relief effort in Rwanda.

Also in 1994, a U.S. federal judge ordered The Citadel, a state-financed military college in Charleston, S.C., to open its doors to women.

And, at his arraignment, O.J. Simpson declared himself "100 percent not guilty" in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend.

In 1999, the ashes of John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and her sister were buried at sea off the coast of Massachusetts. The three had died in a plane crash off Martha's Vineyard six days earlier.

Also in 1999, China outlawed the Falun Gong, or Buddhist Law, religious sect and began detaining thousands of its members.

In 2003, Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusai, were killed by U.S. forces in a fierce, six-hour firefight at a house in Mosul in northern Iraq.

Also in 2003, former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch returned to her West Virginia hometown to a hero's welcome.

And, at least 600 people were reported dead in a series of clashes in the Liberian civil war.

In 2004, the Sept. 11 commission recommended a radical overhaul of the way the nation's intelligence and counter-terror agencies were run and criticized Congress and two administrations for failing to stop the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.

In 2005, a suspected suicide bomber was shot to death by London police after he vaulted a security barrier and tried to board a subway train. It was discovered later that the man had no connection with the transit system bombings.

In 2006, Afghanistan was "close to anarchy" with Western military forces "running out of time," the head of NATO's international security force in that country said.

Also in 2006, China's death toll from Tropical Storm Bilis topped 500 -- more than double the original estimate.

In 2007, the moderate Islamic party ruling Turkey added to its majority in parliamentary elections with 47 percent of the vote, largest share of Turkish votes for any party since 1965.

Also in 2007, at least 26 people died when a bus carrying Roman Catholic pilgrims from Poland fell into a ravine near Grenoble in the French Alps.

Monday, July 21, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 21 On July 21st, 1969, Neil Armstrong because the first person ever to walk on the moon.

Other Notable Events, July 21In 1861, the first major military engagement of the Civil War occurred at Bull Run Creek, Va.

In 1873, Jesse James held up the Rock Island express train at Adair, Iowa, and escaped with $3,000.

In 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tenn., which pitted Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan in one of the great confrontations in legal history, ended with John Thomas Scopes fined $100 for teaching evolution in violation of state law.

In 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin lifted off from the surface of the moon.

In 1970, after 11 years of construction, the massive billion-dollar Aswan High Dam across the Nile River in Egypt was completed, ending the cycle of flood and drought in the Nile River region but triggering an environmental controversy.

In 1991, Jordan joined Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia in agreeing to regional peace talks.

In 2000, a report from special counsel John Danforth cleared U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and the government of wrongdoing in the April 19, 1993, fire that ended the Branch Davidian siege near Waco, Texas.

In 2003, physicians at Vienna General Hospital in Austria say they performed the world's first successful tongue transplant on a human, a 42-year-old man.

Also in 2003, Canadian authorities expanded their search for the remains of 63 Vancouver women missing for 20 years. Pig farmer Robert Pickton was charged with killing 26 women, most of whom were drug-addicted prostitutes.

In 2004, the Sept. 11 commission said it had found that the Clinton and Bush administrations had missed as many as 10 opportunities to thwart terror attacks.

In 2005, a second suicide bombing attack on London within two weeks misfired when the bombs, again in three subway cars and a bus, failed to detonate.

In 2006, medication errors harm 1.5 million people and kill several thousand annually in the United States, a study by the Institute of Medicine said. Additionally, such errors were said to cost the nation at least $3.5 billion a year.

In 2007, Italian police said they had uncovered a bomb school for Islamist militants and arrested three suspects in a raid on a mosque in Perugia. Found, along with evidence of training in explosives and poisons, were instructions for flying a Boeing 747.

Also in 2007, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final installment in the best-selling series, sold more than 8.3 million copies on its first day on the bookshelves.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn

This Day in History, July 20 On July 20th, 1948, President Truman issued the first peacetime military draft in the United States.

Other Notable Events, July 20 In 1859, American baseball fans were charged an admission fee for the first time when 1,500 spectators each paid 50 cents to see Brooklyn play New York.

In 1881, five years after U.S. Army Gen. George A. Custer's defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Sioux leader Sitting Bull surrendered to the army which promised amnesty for him and his followers.

In 1945, the U.S. flag was raised over Berlin as the first U.S. troops moved in to take part in the post-World War II occupation.

In 1940, Billboard magazine published its first "Music Popularity Chart," topped by "I'll Never Smile Again" by the Tommy Dorsey orchestra with Frank Sinatra.

In 1951, while entering a mosque in the Jordanian sector of east Jerusalem, King Abdullah of Jordan was assassinated by a Palestinian nationalist.

In 1968, the first Special Olympics Games were contested at Soldier Field in Chicago.

In 1969, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the moon.

In 1976, the Viking 1 lander, an unmanned U.S. planetary probe, became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the surface of Mars.

In 1985, treasure hunter Mel Fisher located a Spanish galleon sunk by a 1622 hurricane off Key West, Fla. It contained $400 million worth of treasure.

In 1989, U.S. President George H.W. Bush called for the United States to organize a long-range space program to support an orbiting space station, a moon base and a manned mission to Mars.

In 1991, Peruvian evidence showed former President Alan Garcia transferred as much as $50 million in government funds to the Panamanian branch of the BCCI bank for private use.

In 1992, seven people were killed when a test model of the Marine Corps' V-22 Osprey transport aircraft crashed into the Potomac River.

In 1993, White House Deputy Counsel Vincent Foster was found shot to death in a park in northern Virginia. His death was ruled a suicide.

Also in 1993, the Senate Judiciary Committee opened hearings into the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was later confirmed.

In 1994, the Bosnian Serb leadership rejected a plan backed by the major countries that would've given them 49 percent of Bosnian territory.

In 1995, the California Board of Regents voted 14-10 to end consideration of race, sex, religion, color or national origin to the admission of students to state colleges and universities.

In 2003, on the 34th anniversary of his historic feat, Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, paid homage to Orville and Wilbur Wright, in a ceremony saluting the 100th anniversary of their legendary flight.

In 2005, China said it planned to stop tying the value of its currency, the yuan, to the U.S. dollar.

Also in 2005, the U.S. Justice Department activated its online National Sex Offender Public Registry, linking the registries of 22 states.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush received a kind reception and applause from the NAACP in his first address to the nation's oldest civil rights organization as president. He had turned down five previous invitations to speak.

In 2007, U.S. President George Bush issued an executive order allowing the CIA to resume some harsh interrogation methods. The practice had been suspended after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that all U.S.-held detainees must be treated in accord with Geneva Convention restrictions. The resumption did not include the controversial waterboarding method.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Today is Saturday, July 19, the 201st day of 2008 with 165 to follow. The moon is waning. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 19 On July 19th, 1870, France declared war on Prussia.

Other Notable Events, July 19 In 1799, during Napoleon Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign, a French soldier discovered a black basalt slab inscribed with ancient writing near the town of Rosetta, about 35 miles north of Alexandria. The Rosetta Stone, as it was called, held the key to solving the riddle of hieroglyphics, a long dead written language.

In 1848, "bloomers," a radical departure in women's clothing, were introduced to the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y. They were named after Amelia Jenks Bloomer.

In 1911, Pennsylvania became the first U.S. state to pass laws censoring movies.

In 1918, the end of World War I approached as the German army began retreating across the Marne River in France.

In 1946, Marilyn Monroe was given her first screen test at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios. Even without sound, the test was enough to earn Monroe her first contract.

In 1969, John Fairfax of Britain arrived at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to become the first person to row across the Atlantic alone.

In 1984, U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., was chosen as Walter Mondale's vice presidential running mate at the Democratic National Convention. She was the first woman on a major ticket.

In 1989, a crippled DC-10 jetliner crash-landed in a cornfield in Sioux City, Iowa. Amazingly, 181 of the 293 people aboard survived.

In 1990, baseball record holder Pete Rose was sentenced to five months in prison for tax evasion.

In 1991, nine days of combat between Tamil rebels and Sri Lankan soldiers left 78 soldiers and 600 rebels dead in the fiercest fighting since 1983.

In 1993, the Pentagon unveiled its "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy toward homosexuals in the U.S. military.

In 1996, the Summer Olympics opened in Atlanta with a record 197 nations taking part.

In 1997, the IRA declared a cease-fire in its long war to force Britain out of Northern Ireland.

Also in 1997, Liberia's first peaceful presidential election following a seven-year civil war was won by Charles Taylor, a rebel leader with a reputation for brutality.

In 1999, hot weather settled in over the eastern United States, lasting through the end of the month and causing at least 200 deaths -- 80 of them in Illinois.

In 2003, leading Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr announced plans in Iraq to form an independent "Islamic army" and denounced the Iraqi governing council as illegitimate.

In 2004, Sandy Berger, former national security adviser to former U.S. President Bill Clinton and campaign adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, admitted taking classified documents from the National Archives but said he did so inadvertently.

In 2005, U.S. Appeals Court Judge John Roberts was nominated by U.S. President George Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court, replacing the resigned Sandra Day O'Connor.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush issued his first veto of a bill passed by Congress when he rejected a measure to end restrictions on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.

Also in 2006, as the fighting intensified between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the United States began evacuating some of the approximately 25,000 Americans in Lebanon. The first load of 1,100 left by sea and air for Cyprus with thousands more scheduled the next few days.

In 2007, on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 14,000 mark for the first time.

Also in 2007, rescue workers searched through the rubble of a partially collapsed seven-story building in India's financial capital Mumbai looking for more survivors. The death toll stood at 25 with dozens more reported still trapped beneath the debris.

In 1925, seven months after he was released from jail, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler published the first volume of his personal manifesto, "Mein Kampf."

In 1939, MGM had a sneak preview of "The Wizard of Oz" after which producers debated about removing one of the songs because it seemed to slow things down. They finally decided to leave it in. The song: "Over the Rainbow."

In 1984, a gunman opened fire at a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., killing 21 people.

In 1991, the first Ibero-American Summit Conference opened in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Also in 1991, the Yugoslav federal presidency began withdrawing troops from Slovenia.

In 1992, youths rampaged for a second night in southwest England following the deaths of two young men on a stolen police motorcycle.

In 1994, a car bombing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, killed some 100 people in or near a building that housed Jewish organizations.

In 2003, NBA superstar Kobe Bryant was charged with one count of sexual assault stemming from an incident involving a 19-year-old female employee of an Edwards, Colo., hotel.

Also in 2003, British scientist David Kelly, a government adviser and former weapons inspector in Iraq, was found dead, an apparent suicide.

In 2004, the Philippines pulled its troops from Iraq, meeting a demand by kidnappers holding a Filipino hostage.

In 2005, Eric Rudolph was sentenced to two life terms for a deadly 1998 bombing at an abortion clinic in Birmingham, Ala. He also faced later sentencing in Atlanta for bombings at the 1996 Olympics and two other sites.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 17 On July 17th, 1816, the Klondike gold rush began.

Other Notable Events, July 17In 1918, Russian Czar Nicholas II, his wife and their five children were executed by a firing squad in the Ural Mountains of Siberia.

In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began with an army revolt led by Gen. Francisco Franco.

In 1938, Douglas Corrigan took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York for a return flight to California but lost his bearings in the clouds, he said, and flew instead to Ireland. He became an instant celebrity and was forever after known as "Wrong Way" Corrigan.

In 1955, Arco, Idaho, a town of 1,300 people, became the first community in the world to receive all its light and power from atomic energy.

Also in 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif.

In 1975, three U.S. and two Soviet spacemen linked their orbiting Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft for historic handshakes 140 miles above Earth.

In 1981, 114 people were killed and 200 injured when two suspended walkways collapsed at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City, Mo.

In 1993, the Midwest flood knocked out the Bayview Bridge connecting Quincy, Ill., with West Quincy, Mo., the last remaining crossing over the Mississippi River for about 200 miles.

In 1996, TWA Flight 800, New York to Paris, crashed off the Long Island coast, killing all 230 people aboard.

In 1998, U.S. President Bill Clinton became the first sitting U.S. president to be subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury as independent counsel Kenneth Starr continued his investigation into the Monica Lewinsky affair.

In 2003, an attack on a convoy in Iraq killed one soldier and pushed the death toll of U.S. troops in the Iraqi conflict to 148, one more than died in the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

In 2005, a reported 59 people were killed and 86 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a gas tanker in Musayyib, south of Baghdad, in one of the deadliest attacks since the U.S. invasion.

In 2006, an earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that struck the Indonesian island of Java, killing close to 700 people. Around 200 were reported missing and thousands were rendered homeless. A second quake hit the area two days later.

Also in 2006, the fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon continued almost steadily. At one point, Hezbollah shelling of Israel was reported running at a clip of a missile a minute while Israel's air force stepped up bombing runs.

In 2007, a Brazilian airliner skidded off the runway as it landed at San Paulo's Congonhas airport and crashed into a nearby building. Authorities placed the death toll at 200, reportedly the worst airline crash in Brazil's history.

Also in 2007, a U.S. National Intelligence Estimate report indicated that the terrorist network al-Qaida had gained strength in the past two years, posing a "persistent and evolving terrorist threat" for the United States in the near future.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan was unanimously nominated as the Republican candidate for president at the GOP National Convention in Detroit. He chose George Bush as his running mate after former U.S. President Gerald Ford declined to join the ticket.

In 1990, Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev dropped his objections to a unified Germany in NATO.

In 1991, at its London summit, the Group of Seven agreed to support the Soviet Union's economic reforms and its admission to the International Monetary Fund.

In 1999, John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife and her sister were killed when their single-engine plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard. The son of former U.S. President John Kennedy was 39.

In 2004, Martha Stewart was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest for after being found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of an agency proceeding, and making false statements to federal investigators.

Also in 2004, at least 75 children were killed in a fire that engulfed a school in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.

In 2005, British police said a powerful explosive had been found in an apartment in the English town of Leeds, possibly related to the previous week's London bombings of three subway trains and a double-decker bus in which 54 people died and more than 700 were injured.

In 2006, leaders of the Group of Eight major economic powers criticized Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon for their fighting and urged them to stop. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Hezbollah had to be disarmed.

Also in 2006, North Korea said the U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning Pyongyang for its recent missile tests was a prelude to a new Korean war.

In 2007, a reported 85 people died when a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck into a Kirkuk compound that housed offices of Kurdish politicians in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Also in 2007, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified that North Korea had shut down its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 15 On July 15th, 1799, the Rosetta Stone was discovered by Pierre-Francois Bouchard.

Other Notable Events, July 15 In 1806, Zebulon Pike began an expedition to explore the American Southwest.

In 1912, led by all-round athlete Jim Thorpe, the U.S. team took more medals than any other nation at the Summer Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

In 1945, Italy declared war on Japan, its former Axis partner.

In 1965, the unmanned spacecraft Mariner 4 passed over Mars at an altitude of 6,000 feet and sent to Earth the first close-up images of the red planet.

In 1968, a Soviet Aeroflot jetliner landed at New York's JFK Airport, marking the beginning of direct commercial flights between the United States and the Soviet Union.

In 1971, U.S. President Richard Nixon disclosed plans to make an unprecedented visit to the People's Republic of China. He made the historic trip in February 1972.

In 1986, Britain and the Soviet Union settled accounts on $75 million in bonds that were issued under Russia's czars and defaulted on after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The settlement ended a 60-year financial dispute.

In 1987, former national security adviser John Poindexter told the Iran-Contra congressional panels he personally authorized the transfer of Iran arms sale profits to the Nicaraguan rebels.

In 1992, the Democratic National Convention nominated Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton as its presidential candidate.

Also in 1992, Pope John Paul II underwent surgery to remove what doctors said was benign tumor the "size of orange" in his colon.

In 1997, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot to death in front of his Miami mansion. The prime suspect was Andrew Cunanan, already wanted in four other slayings who was found dead a week later, an apparent suicide.

In 1999, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, who already had raised more money than any previous candidate for a presidential nomination, announced he wouldn't accept matching federal funds, freeing him from spending caps.

In 2002, John Walker Lindh, a 21-year-old American captured by the U.S. military in Afghanistan while with Taliban forces, admitted he had fought as a soldier with them. After cooperating in the investigation of the terrorist network, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Also in 2002, for the first time in two years, the euro came out ahead of the slumping U.S. dollar, reaching $1.0055.

In 2003, the U.S. budget was running a deficit 50 percent higher than the Bush administration forecast five months earlier, affected by war, tax cuts and a third year of a flagging economy.

In 2004, a U.N. report showed Miami, with its large Cuban presence, to have the highest percentage of foreign-born population in the world, reaching 59 percent of its residents.

In 2005, several California utilities said they settled claims against Enron Corp. for overcharges in the state's 2000-01 energy crisis, including a $47.3 million cash payment.

In 2006, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose limited sanctions on North Korea in response to its launching of nuclear missiles. North Korea said, however, it would continue its nuclear program.

In 2007, the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese agreed to a $600 million settlement with 508 people who claimed they had been sexually abused by members of the clergy.

Monday, July 14, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 14 On July 14th, 1902, the Campanile in Venice collapsed.

Other Notable Events, July 14 In 1789, French peasants stormed the Bastille prison in Paris, beginning the French Revolution. The event is commemorated as "Bastille Day," a national holiday in France.

In 1793, Jean Paul Marat, one of the most outspoken leaders of the French Revolution, was stabbed to death in his bath by Charlotte Corday, a Royalist sympathizer.

In 1914, Robert Goddard was granted the first patent for a liquid-fueled rocket design.

In 1933, all political parties except the Nazis were officially suppressed in Germany.

In 1966, eight nurses were found killed in Chicago. Drifter Richard Speck later was convicted of the slayings.

In 1991, Syrian President Hafez al-Assad accepted U.S. President George H.W. Bush's compromise proposal for a Middle East peace conference.

In 1999, the European Union ended its three-year ban on British beef imports. The ban had been prompted by fears of mad cow disease.

In 2000, a jury in Miami-Dade Co., Fla., ordered the tobacco industry to pay $144.8 billion to Florida smokers. It was the largest damage award in U.S. history.

Also in 2000, a U.S. government panel concluded that federal officials weren't liable in the deaths of Branch Davidian cult members in a massive confrontation near Waco, Texas, in April 1993.

In 2003, a U.S. government source confirmed North Korea had begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, a step toward making more nuclear arms.

Also in 2003, despite bad information that showed up in his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush said U.S. intelligence was "darn good."

In 2004, a British government committee concluded that British intelligence prior to the Iraq war had been "seriously flawed."

In 2006, U.S. crude oil futures recorded an all-time high closing price of $77.03 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country would suspend its participation in the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, a Cold War agreement that limited deployment of heavy weaponry.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 13 On July 13th, 1772, the HMS Resolution set sail from Plymouth, England.

Other Notable Events, July 13 In 1859, Mexican revolutionary President Benito Juarez ordered property of the Roman Catholic Church confiscated throughout Mexico.

In 1863, opposition to the Federal Conscription Act led to riots in New York City. More than 1,000 people were killed.

In 1898, Guglielmo Marconi was awarded a patent for wireless telegraphy, the radio.

In 1960, Democrats nominated Sen. John F. Kennedy for president against GOP Vice President Richard Nixon.

In 1977, a state of emergency was declared in New York City when the entire area suffered a 25-hour power blackout.

In 1985, more than 50 rock stars performed a total of 17 hours at televised "Live Aid" concerts in Philadelphia and London to raise money for African famine relief.

In 1990, the U.S. Senate gave final legislative approval to a bill that would forbid discrimination based on disability, including that caused by AIDS or alcoholism. President George H.W. Bush signed the measure into law July 26.

In 1994, a U.S. Defense Department report blamed human errors for the downing in April of two U.S. helicopters over Iraq by two U.S. fighter jets.

In 1998, Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto resigned, a victim of the country's economic woes.

In 2000, the leader of Fiji's successful coup freed the former prime minister and 17 other hostages, ending a 2-month-old crisis.

In 2002, The Bush administration said that fiscal 2002 would see a deficit of $165 billion despite the $127 billion surplus recorded for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2001.

In 2003, the new 25-member Iraqi council, representing all major religious and ethnic groups in the country, had its first meeting in a major step toward self-government.

Also in 2003, a senior U.S. official said North Korea apparently had begun reprocessing spent nuclear fuel rods, suggesting the country planned to produce nuclear weapons.

In 2004, bowing to demands by Iraq insurgents and in an effort to save a kidnapped truck driver, the Philippines announced it would pull its workers out of Iraq.

In 2005, a judge in New York sentenced former WorldCom Chief Executive Officer Bernard Ebbers to a 25-year prison sentence for his part in what was described as the largest fraud in U.S. corporate history.

Also in 2005, a U.S. soldier and 24 Iraqis, including seven children, were killed by a suicide car bomber at a Baghdad checkpoint.

In 2006, the long-simmering tensions between Israel and the militant Muslim organization Hezbollah in Lebanon erupted into violence with each bombarding the other.

In 2007, a draft National Intelligence Estimate report, compiled from the work of all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, suggested that al-Qaida was preparing for another attack on the United States.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 12 On July 12th, 1534, King Henry the VIII married his final wife, Catherine Parr.

Other Notable Events, July 12 In 1862, the U.S. Congress authorized a new award, the Medal of Honor highest military award for valor against an enemy.

In 1933, a U.S. industrial code was established to fix a minimum wage of 40 cents an hour.

In 1962, the Rolling Stones gave their first public performance, at the Marquee Club in London.

In 1984, Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale named Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, D-N.Y., as his running mate. She was the first woman to share a major U.S. political party's presidential ticket. They lost in November, however, to incumbent Ronald Reagan.

In 1990, Boris Yeltsin quit the Soviet Communist Party, saying he wanted to concentrate on his duties as president of the Russian republic.

In 1991, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee accused the former ambassador to Iraq, April Glaspie, of misleading them about prewar meetings with Saddam Hussein.

In 1994, PLO chief Yasser Arafat and his wife took up permanent residence in the Gaza Strip.

In 1995, at least 800 people died in the Midwest and Northeast as the result of a heat wave that lasted five days.

In 1996, as part of her divorce settlement from British Prince Charles, Princess Diana kept the princess title and received about $25 million in a lump sum followed by an income of $600,000 a year.

In 2000, the United States and Vietnam reached a trade agreement that would allow unfettered commerce between the two nations for the first time since the end of the Vietnam War.

In 2004, Saudi Arabia said it had rounded up hundreds of terror suspects but denied the existence of al-Qaida in that country.

In 2005, AIDS activists said South Africa may have the world's largest number of HIV cases, with possibly more than 6 million of the nation's 40 million people infected.

In 2007, a White House report indicated that the Iraqi government had satisfactorily met eight of 18 benchmarks, including troop deployment in and around Baghdad and in training of troops.

Friday, July 11, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 11 On July 11th, 1859, "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was published.

Other Notable Events, July 11In 1804, U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr killed long-time political foe Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury secretary and chief architect of the nation's political economy, in a duel at Weehawken, N.J.

In 1847, songwriter Stephen Foster's first major hit, "Oh! Susanna," was performed for the first time, in a Pittsburgh saloon, and soon became a standard for minstrel shows.

In 1952, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, with Richard Nixon as his running mate. They were elected that November.

In 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado was dedicated with 300 cadets in its first class.

In 1979, The United States' Skylab space station fell to earth, scattering tons of debris across the Australian desert.

In 1993, the collapse of a river levee left Des Moines, Iowa, without potable tap water. The water was not declared safe to drink until month's end.

In 1994, Haiti kicked human rights monitors out of the country.

In 1995, the United States resumed diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

In 1996, the international court at The Hague handed down more indictments for Bosnian war crimes, including an indictment for Radovan Karadzic, the political leader of Serbs within Bosnia.

In 2003, leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops met with prominent Roman Catholic business executives, academics and journalists to discuss the church's future in light of the clergy sexual abuse crisis.

In 2004, the United Nations said Asia was on the brink of an AIDS catastrophe with more than 8 million people living with HIV or AIDS.

In 2006, more than 200 people were killed and another 700 injured in coordinated rush-hour terrorist attacks on the transit system in Mumbai.

In 2007, Iraqi authorities accused guards of stealing $282 million from the Dar Es Salaam bank in Baghdad.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

Notable Birthdays for July 11 Those born on this date include:- Scottish King Robert the Bruce in 1274- John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, in 1767- Author E.B. White in 1899- Actor Yul Brynner in 1920- Actor Tab Hunter in 1931 (age 77)- Fashion designer Giorgio Armani in 1934 (age 74)- Former heavyweight boxing champion Leon Spinks, in 1953 (age 55)- Actress Sela Ward in 1956 (age 52)- TV host John Henson in 1967 (age 31)

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Neptune, Mercury, and Uranus. The evening stars are Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Saturn.

This Day in History, July 10 On July 10th, 1778, Louis XVI declared war on Great Britain

Other Notable Events, July 10 In 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the United States as the 44th state.

In 1925, the so-called Monkey Trial, in which John Scopes was accused of teaching evolution in school, a violation of state law, began in Dayton, Tenn., featuring a classic confrontation between William Jennings Bryan, the three-time presidential candidate and fundamentalist hero, and legendary defense attorney Clarence Darrow.

In 1938, industrialist Howard Hughes and a crew of four flew around the world in 91 hours, setting a speed record.

In 1962, the pioneer telecommunications satellite Telstar began relaying TV pictures between the United States and Europe.

In 1985, two explosions sank the Rainbow Warrior, flagship of the Greenpeace environmental activist group, in Auckland, New Zealand, killing a ship's photographer and launching an international uproar. France later acknowledged responsibility.

Also in 1985, Coca-Cola, besieged by consumers dissatisfied with the new Coke introduced in April, dusted off the old formula and dubbed it "Coke Classic."

In 1989, Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and countless other Warner Bros. cartoon characters and radio and TV comic creations, died from complications of heart disease. He was 81.

In 1991, U.S. President George H.W. Bush lifted U.S. trade sanctions against South Africa, making it possible for the two nations to engage in trade.

Also in 1991, in Moscow, Boris Yeltsin was inaugurated as the first freely elected president of the Russian republic.

In 1992, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was sentenced to 40 years in prison for cocaine racketeering.

And in 1992, an Alaskan appeals court overturned the conviction of former Exxon Valdez Capt. Joseph Hazelwood in connection with the massive oil spill in Prince William Sound.

In 1999, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and five other African nations, all of which had troops in Congo, signed a cease-fire agreement in a bid to end that country's civil war.

Also in 1999, the U.S. team won the Women's World Cup in soccer, defeating China in the final on penalty kicks.

In 2002, the blue-chip Dow Jones industrials declined 282.59 points and the hard-hit Nasdaq index and Standard and Poor's 500 stock index fell to their lowest levels since 1997.

In 2003, North Korea's chief delegate called on South Korea to forge a united front against the United States, which he said was "seeking to start a war of aggression against the Korean nation."

In 2004, a report by the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence said the United States would not have gone to war in Iraq if the weakness of pre-war intelligence revealed by the Senate had been known.

In 2006, 45 passengers and crew aboard a Pakistan International Airlines flight died in a fiery crash when the aircraft went down after takeoff in Multan after one engine failed and the wing hit a power cable.

In 2007, in a two-day battle that began on this date, ending a three-month standoff, Pakistani government commandos stormed Islamabad's Red Mosque, which had been taken over by radical students. At least 100 people were reported killed in the final struggle.

You are our visitor number:

Vistor's Location

MY DUAL IDENTITY - THE COUNTRY OF MY PARENTS BIRTH

THE COUNTRY OF MY BIRTH

About Me

I was born in Mexcio, DF of Belizean parents.I enjoy working with students and I believe that my purpose in life is to guide the minds of the youth around me, to share my life with friends and family and to respect myself and others for the opinions that shape our lives. I believe that we should live each day as if it was our last. We must cherish friendships and spread happiness to those around us. Give from the heart and you will feel a sense of satifaction. That I believe is my purpose for being on this earth.